FREE ESSAY ON SICKLE-CELL ANEMIA

SICKLE-CELL ANEMIA

Sickle-Cell Anemia
Hemoglobin, an oxygen carrying protein in blood, is sometime altered 
in people causing interruptions in the circulation of blood. This is known as 
Sickle-Cell Anemia. In the United States, Sickle-Cell Anemia is found 
mostly in blacks. About 1 in 400 blacks in the United States have the 
disorder. In Africa, and parts of the Middle East, Sickle-Cell Anemia can be 
found, not just in the United States.
In infants, it only takes about 6 months after birth for symptoms of 
Sickle-Cell Anemia to appear. These symptoms include the following: 
swelling of hands and feet; and enlargement of heart and abdomen. Sexual 
maturation may be delayed in the adolescence stage of life. Later in life, leg 
ulcers and infections can occur due to blood flow disturbance caused by the 
disease.
Sickle-Cell Anemia gets its name from the sickle, a sharp, crescent-
shaped tool. When a person has Sick-Cell Anemia, their red blood cells 
change in shape due to the altered hemoglobin in the blood. When the 
oxygen in the blood cells is reduced for any reason, the cells become oddly 
shaped. They are shaped like a sickle.
This blood disease is inherited from the parents, much like other traits. 
The gene for Sickle-Cell Anemia is codominant with the gene for normal 
blood hemoglobin. When the heterozygous form occurs, that person is said 
to be a Sickle-Call Carrier. He or she has the gene for the Sickle-Cell 
Anemia, but does not show the symptoms of the disorder. Sickle-Cell 
carriers are partially resistant to Malaria.